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 Kershaw Centofante-Onion Pocket Knife with Speed Safe By: Kershaw Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 3 More Information Great knife. (Kershaw, forget the signatures)  On: 2008-05-19I own 6 speed safe knifes of which all are great knifes. 3 are of this type; Centofante-Onion. The only thing that I did not like about this knife is that it came with the designers signatures on the knife handle. The knife in the pic did not have that, although other pics on other sites did. This is a great universal pocket knife, but I prefer the same knife with the lighter aluminum handles. Beautiful and practical knife  On: 2007-10-10I purchased this knife to replace my 1600SS polished stainless Chive. This knife is very slightly larger than the Chive, but it is in useful dimensions. The straight blade feels less familiar at first, but in daily use it proves to be more useful than the conventional drop point of the Chive. The quality of materials and construction is excellent. The safety is no longer at the blade tip, but up near the folding hinge. It is very tight when new, but that is fine, as I dont intend to use the safety. Mind you, on the Chive, the safety was very important. However, on this knife, the Speed Safe opening mechanism is much harder to accidentally deploy. The thumb press is smaller, and the cam spring is stiffer, requiring much more deliberate action. At first I was annoyed, but then I realized that the trade-off is that I can safely carry this knife unsheathed in my pocket and need not operate the safety in addition to the Speed Safe, as on the Chive. The Chive has an integrated clip. On this knife, the clip is part of a small leather sheath. The sheath is very well made, but its not terribly practical on a knife this small. The clip, in fact, is somewhat impractical: if you wear jeans, this knife is a bit too small to comfortably extract from a waistband or pocket when clipped. Its better for me to give that up and carry the knife loose in the pocket. It will settle to the bottom below your keys, and always be easy to grab and deploy with one hand. But this is not a criticism of the knife. Its a practical matter that the most useful size knife happens to be a size thats not practical to handle like a large collectors or hunting knife. A previous reviewer criticized the finish. My understanding is that the Tungsten DLC coating is very durable, and only looks fragile. On the other hand, a pocket knife that is actually carried in the pocket with keys... is going to get scratched. I see no reason to mark down an otherwise excellent knife for the practical reason that it will scratch if carried in your pocket with keys day in and day out. It is, after all a tool, not a collectors knife. Its going to get used. Personally I would prefer an all polished-stainless version, without any inlays, and I would then be completely unconcerned with scratches. But this version is more attractive. Beautiful and practical knife On: 2007-10-09I purchased this knife to replace my 1600SS polished stainless Chive. This knife is very slightly larger than the Chive, but it is in useful dimensions. The straight blade feels less familiar at first, but in daily use it proves to be more useful than the conventional drop point of the Chive. The quality of materials and construction is excellent. The safety is no longer at the blade tip, but up near the folding hinge. It is very tight when new, but that is fine, as I dont intend to use the safety. Mind you, on the Chive, the safety was very important. However, on this knife, the Speed Safe opening mechanism is much harder to accidentally deploy. The thumb press is smaller, and the cam spring is stiffer, requiring much more deliberate action. At first I was annoyed, but then I realized that the trade-off is that I can safely carry this knife unsheathed in my pocket and need not operate the safety in addition to the Speed Safe, as on the Chive. The Chive has an integrated clip. On this knife, the clip is part of a small leather sheath. The sheath is very well made, but its not terribly practical on a knife this small. The clip, in fact, is somewhat impractical: if you wear jeans, this knife is a bit too small to comfortably extract from a waistband or pocket when clipped. Its better for me to give that up and carry the knife loose in the pocket. It will settle to the bottom below your keys, and always be easy to grab and deploy with one hand. But this is not a criticism of the knife. Its a practical matter that the most useful size knife happens to be a size thats not practical to handle like a large collectors or hunting knife. A previous reviewer criticized the finish. My understanding is that the Tungsten DLC coating is very durable, and only looks fragile. On the other hand, a pocket knife that is actually carried in the pocket with keys... is going to get scratched. I see no reason to mark down an otherwise excellent knife for the practical reason that it will scratch if carried in your pocket with keys day in and day out. It is, after all a tool, not a collectors knife. Its going to get used. Personally I would prefer an all polished-stainless version, without any inlays, and I would then be completely unconcerned with scratches. But this version is more attractive. not sure what it wants to be  On: 2007-02-24I have a number of Kershaw Ken Onion speedsafe designed knives from Boa to Chive. I loved the look of this one in photos and also liked the fact the configuration I bought had the pocket clip on the leather sheath, rather than the knife itself (it comes both ways apparently). But when it arrived, I realized it was impractical due to the size, sort of a gentlemans knife in a thick sheath. It is too small to justify a sheath and too polished to carry in a pocket without one (unless you want it to be a scratched up mess in short order). If this were the Centofante design in a Leek-sized knife it would be a beauty. As is, I am not sure what to do with it. (Fit, finish, and speedsafe opening mechanism are perfect.) not sure what it wants to be On: 2007-02-23I have a number of Kershaw Ken Onion speedsafe designed knives from Boa to Chive. I loved the look of this one in photos and also liked the fact the configuration I bought had the pocket clip on the leather sheath, rather than the knife itself (it comes both ways apparently). But when it arrived, I realized it was impractical due to the size, sort of a gentlemans knife in a thick sheath. It is too small to justify a sheath and too polished to carry in a pocket without one (unless you want it to be a scratched up mess in short order). If this were the Centofante design in a Leek-sized knife it would be a beauty. As is, I am not sure what to do with it. (Fit, finish, and speedsafe opening mechanism are perfect.) |